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Posted by
shawshank
on 2012-04-16

Posted by
mtc
on 2011-09-07

PUBLIC:

We have been receiving about two to three cold e-mails per day from VC's since making the Inc. list this year. Ignored most due to cookie cutter messages or no reply when asked for a little more information. Got the form e-mail from Daniel at Summit and would have passed it on, however, he referenced a few items from our website and knew enough to discuss synergistic companies in their portfolio. Had about a fifteen minute call, very clear that we are not the right fit for each other currently from the start, but a friendly discussion and an offer for a helpful introduction. Great use of fifteen minutes in my mind and much better than most of the calls I have had.

Received a cold email from someone who apparently is an associate. We are not actively raising now but dont mind briefing people in general on what we are doing for future reference. We are also an east coast company interested in being based eventually on the west coast with the right partners.

After reading the experiences of a number of people on Funded, doesnt sound as if this would be a good group to meet and perhaps they are doing recon for another investment in our space (though there are around 2-3 co. in the country because of IP requirements, etc.).

Posted by
doctorv
on 2010-11-11

If you can make the cut, Summit can be a very good partner in your business. The companies that they invest in are typically profitable, fast growing, and have crossed a certain revenue threshold.

We recently received an investment from them. Getting to the term sheet stage was very quick and efficient. The due diligence process was somewhat long and onerous; but in the end was a good forcing function for us to get our house in order.

They have been excellent to work with and have been giving us great operational advise. They are helping us with corp-dev functions and are helping us recruit for key management roles.

Posted by
pfuhrman
on 2008-06-16

Our company pitched Summit Partners on an investment opportunity in the digital media space. While they expressed significant interest initially, they fell off the map shortly thereafter. After a few persistent phone calls I discovered that three members (out of five) of their Internet media team had left the firm. So, not only was our deal going nowhere with this group, they didnâ€™t have a group to move forward with. One other note â€" Summit Partners is a venture capital firm that wants to be a private equity firm. This leads to them to look at growth equity deals, but they are really still seeking a venture return.

Posted by
Jasonamanda
on 2008-04-17

PUBLIC:

I have been the CEO of a Summit portfolio company for more than five years. As I read these anonymous comments, I can't help feeling that for the most part they are either sour grapes just trying to hurt Summit's reputation or these folks just don't understand Summit's investment process. Summit invests in profitable, private companies and it's really not an insult to have them tell you "not now". None of the entrepreneurs that pick Summit necessarily need outside capital. For most, it's a strategic choice to get some liquidity, make some acquisitions, strengthen the balance sheet, and have a good partner who knows how to work with already successful companies. Summit has to go find entrepreneurs and get to know them over time. They call hundreds of companies and build relationships for many years -- that's what they did with me. And I can tell you first-hand that if you make the grade and happen to have them as your equity partner, there is no one better at supporting their CEOs and the companies in which they invest.

Posted by
elvis29
on 2007-08-26

PUBLIC:

I agree with a lot of the comments here. I've gotten the cold call and the exact spam email from these "cold calling" fools. I even spoke to an associate and set up a meeting in Boston. He was super pumped and had the GPs lined up . Cancelled it after he saw that we hadnt done $1mm in PROFIT yet.

Posted by
r1ch12
on 2007-08-23

PUBLIC:

Agree with above comments on the associates banging out leads. They've been contacting me for over a year saying how excited they are to participate "in our space" yet they haven't made any investments in the space.

Most of the action I've seen came from associates trying to fill the leads quota. The associates I spoke with (they been cold-calling us persistently) had little to no knowledge and basically wrote down whatever I told them without understanding the market or the business and without any meaningful questions.